


Cute

by Belsmomaus



Series: Malec - Advent Calendar 2018 [1]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Embarrassment, Humor, M/M, post 2x15
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-01
Updated: 2018-12-01
Packaged: 2019-09-05 00:12:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,434
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16799833
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Belsmomaus/pseuds/Belsmomaus
Summary: Alec learns an important lesson: never let your boyfriend alone with your sister. Never!





	Cute

**Author's Note:**

> The whole story takes place after 2x15, so after Magnus confides his darkest memory to Alec (and the whole 'there is nothing ugly about you' scene) and before Alec learns that the Clave doesn't have the Soul Sword.
> 
> This is my first time writing in the Shadowhunters- Universe. I've only just started reading the books, so I only really know the show and the story therefore follows the show and its characterisation. But Magnus Bane just swept me off my feet and I couldn't resist writing a moment longer ;)

_**Cute** _

Izzy (Alec)

“Magnus!”

Seeing his boyfriend saunter into the ops-center of the Institute accompanied by an unhappy looking Raj wasn’t what Alec had expected to see upon turning away from the screen. And just like that all his alarm bells rang at once. “What are you doing here?”

The worry as well as the ‘Are you okay? Has something happened?’ died on his tongue the second he spotted the relaxed posture and the easy smile. He released a measured breath. The whole body swap mess – and its aftermath – had him still more on edge than he wanted to admit.

Magnus came closer, an alluring smile on his face. He looked amazing as always in an expensive looking dark green shirt, the top buttons undone, silver necklaces complementing the silver glittering embroidery of his tailored jacket. There was a touch of green at the tips of his spiked up hair. Without a care in the world for the shadowhunters around them Magnus leaned in and stole a sweet welcoming kiss right from Alec’s lips.

“Do I need a reason to visit my boyfriend?”

Caught off-guard for a second, with the sweet taste of Magnus still lingering, he said: “No, of course not.” Then his brain caught on again. “Although you usually _have_ a reason to step foot into the Institute.” _Especially after…_

He didn’t say it, didn’t even want to think of it, but the words hung in the air. Unspoken. Unpleasant. Heavy.

Something dark and pained flashed in those beautiful dark eyes in front of him, but only for a second – enough to make the guilt gnaw at him again. Then their warm shine was back. And Magnus turned his gaze away, just a tiny bit, and the smile on his lips turned coy.

An endearing sight.

“You know me too well, Alexander.”

Magnus looked up again, meeting his gaze through dark lashes and Alec knew he wouldn’t be able to deny him anything in that moment. And judging from that little smirk Magnus knew that as well. He was probably counting on it. “I thought I could take you out for dinner. I know this lovely little place on Oahu...”

Hawaii.

Alec had never been to Hawaii. The image of a white beach appeared in front of his eyes, of walking barefoot through the warm sand, listening to the crashing of the waves, his arm around the man in front of him. Kisses that tasted of pineapple…

But…

“Valentine is still missing-” he started. Magnus raised one eyebrow, like a silent ‘don’t you dare’ that he would never voice. Not like that. And he didn’t have to, since Magnus’ words already resounded through his mind. _There will always be a war. A mission. A problem to solve. If you fail to grant time for the things you care about, you’ll forget why you’re even fighting at all._ He doubted that he could ever forget why he fought Valentine, but nevertheless, Magnus was right. And just like that his shoulders relaxed. “But there’s nothing I can do about that tonight. So, sure, lets have dinner on Oahu.”

Magnus’ smile was a surprised one, before it settled into an open display of joy.

And Alec thought that he’d do anything to see that smile on that face.

Of course _that’s_ when a fire message flew through the air towards him. He plucked the burning piece of parchment out of the air and gave it a quick shake to douse the flames. His eyes skimmed the few rows of text and just like that the tension crept back into his shoulders. “It’s from the Clave.”

Magnus sighed. Resigned, but he still put on a smile. The false one he used to hide his emotions behind. “Of course it is. Rain check?”

“No.” His vehemence surprised even himself. “This shouldn’t take too long. Just- let me take care of this and then I’m all yours.”

The way Magnus’ face lit up at that made his stomach flutter.

Definitely the right choice!

“Mmh, all mine… I like the sound of that.”

And suddenly Alec remembered that they _weren’t_ alone. He could _feel_ the others pointedly not looking at them, but listening in on their conversation. Listening to every word said or whispered. Listening in on Magnus’ seductive tone that spoke of so many unspoken promises. He cleared his throat, felt the heat in his face. So he tried to safe himself into familiar territory, _safe_ territory, namely: work.

“I’m back as soon as I can.”

“Alright. I’ll see if I can find Isabelle in the meantime.”

“Izzy?”

Magnus did an exaggerated spin back at his confused question. This time he lowered his voice. “Sure. I wanted to check up with her after that whole yin fen situation. See how she’s dealing with it all.”

Maybe that shouldn’t have taken Alec by surprise the way it did. This was just the way Magnus was, making sure the ones he cared about where okay. “She’s doing much better. Sebastian did her good. I don’t know what he did, but he seems to be just what she needed. She should be in her room right now.”

Magnus nodded, then turned again, this time less melodramatically, and headed off towards the private wing of the Institute. He gave one final wave over his shoulder before he vanished. “You know where to find me.” And then he was gone.

***

Of course it took much longer than expected to sort things out with the Clave. It was over an hour later now and he felt sorry for making Magnus wait that long. Maybe he should’ve just sent someone to let him know that he shouldn’t bother waiting for him. Or at least let him know that it would take longer than expected. Well, now it was too late anyway.

He was so ready to leave right now. Get away from the Clave and from his duties for just a moment.

God, the thought of dinner and a quiet stroll across the beach with Magnus on Hawaii… he _longed_ for it. For the time to relax, alone with the man he loved. They _both_ deserved and needed that.

He rubbed his shoulder, trying to massage the muscles there, as he headed through the quiet hallway towards Izzy’s room. He was just about to grab the door handle when he heard it: giggling. Coming from inside.

When had he last heard his sister giggle like that? Amused and maybe even a tad silly? He tried, but he couldn’t remember. It painted a fond smile on his face, though.

He was happy and relieved that she was better now. That she’d found her way back to her old self and worked through her problems. Not knowing where she was or if she’s okay after that horrible night he found her in Raphael’s arms, both of them high as kites, had been the worst thing ever.

He shook his head to get the memory out of it. There was that giggle again. A bit louder this time as it eventually turned into a hearty laugh.

A lough that didn’t belong to Izzy.

It was _Magnus_ who giggled with amusement!

Alec froze.

He stared at the dark wood of the door as if it could offer any answers to the million questions running through his head right now.

What were the _doing_ in there???

Leaning closer he listened. Carefully. Waiting. There it was again. That giggling laugh, only interrupted by cooing noises and the occasional soft ‘awww’. Then a second voice chimed in, chuckling in delight: Izzy.

Alec frowned, puzzled. Curious.

What the hell was so funny?

But another question pushed to the forefront of his mind: did it really matter?

This was the first time in quite a while – longer than he cared to think about – that he’d heard a sound so open and cheerful and _carefree_ from either of them. Not since the yin fen situation. Not since the body swap fiasco. He’d failed them both by not realizing sooner. Hearing them both like this now made him swallow against a lump in his throat. A warm feeling spread through his chest. And the corners of his mouth pulled up on their own accord.

It really didn’t matter _why_ they had such a good time in there, only that they _had_ , but he was still curious. As quiet as possible he pushed down the handle and the door open, just far enough so he could peak inside.

They were both on the bed, leaning against the headboard. Izzy, all in skin-tight black fabric, had her knees drawn up. Magnus lounged next to her, their shoulders touching and his long legs stretched out, his socked feet crossed at the ankles. Neither of them had noticed him yet, their attention completely focused on something in Izzy’s lap. Izzy was grinning like an idiot and Magnus was cooing again, that same expression on his face that he usually got when fretting over the bunch of stray cats on his rooftop terrace.

Alec rolled his eyes and snorted. “Please tell me you’re not watching those ridiculous cat videos again!”

Their heads shot up in unison, both equally startled and yet, the moment they saw him, they just cracked up all of a sudden. Izzy held her belly and would’ve rolled onto her side if Magnus hadn’t been sitting there, holding her up. Or was he holding _on to_ her to not topple over himself?

There were fucking _tears_ running down their cheeks.

What the hell was so damn funny?

He didn’t get it.

He _hated_ being out of the loop like this.

He was just about to demand answers when he spotted the dark leather in Izzy’s lap. They hadn’t been looking at a phone. They’d been looking at an old, leather-bound photo album. _His_ photo album. The one his parents had made for him to remember his childhood days.

_All of his baby pictures were in there!!!_

His head was swimming all of a sudden. He was cold with mortification, yet his face was burning. He stumbled, the ground beneath his feet suddenly less than stable.

_His baby pictures!!!_

Those pictures were embarrassing enough as it were, but his _boyfriend_ seeing them… he’d rather face a demon. Or two.

There’s that picture of him cuddled against that ugly plush teddy bear his grandmother had gotten him.

Or the one of him drooling all over his own fist with utter abandon.

Or the one from his very first bath. Chubby and naked with the ugly, pinched off remnants of his umbilical cord still dangling from his belly like a slimy worm. His eyes were wide as saucers in that one, skeptical and frightened, his face scrunched up on the verge of crying, unsure if he should like being dunked in water or not at all.

Or the one where he cried so hard his whole face was a blotchy and red mess and he got snot and tears everywhere.

Oh my God, or the one of Maryse breastfeeding him. There was a picture in there of him sucking on his mother’s breast!!!

Could he just drop dead already, please?

“Izzy.” It’s supposed to sound accusatory, threatening, but it only came out as a weak and wobbly question. Which only made it worse.

“What?” she asked, playing innocent. He could’ve killed her in that moment.

“You weren’t overly fond of water, were you?” Magnus mused.

And that’s just too much.

Alec buried his face in his hands, hoping against hope that he might somehow simply vanish into thin air. A groan slipped past his lips. And Izzy’s trilling laugh rang in his ears.

_Siblings! The worst menace on Earth!_

“Alexander.” Magnus’ voice was like velvet, even more than usual, caressing every syllable of his name like something precious. Warm hands wrapped around his wrists and gently pulled his hands away, revealing his no doubt beet red face. Mirth was still dancing in his dark, glistening eyes, but Magnus smiled at him in a way that almost made him forget about the photo album.

Almost.

“You were the cutest child ever!”

“Told you,” Izzy chimed up.

Alec glowered at her over Magnus’ shoulder. Then snorted as he eventually faced his boyfriend again. “I was a bald, chubby, slobbering midget,” he deadpanned. “But thanks for pretending otherwise.”

Magnus chuckled. “But you were the cutest bald, chubby, slobbering midget I’ve ever seen! Seriously, Alexander,” he said, the mirth gone from his voice, “there’s no need to be embarrassed about these pictures. They’re adorable.”

No, they really weren’t.

“You’d probably think differently if you were in my place.”

The second those words left his lips he realized what he’d just said. And to whom.

If only that were possible, him flipping through a photo album of Magnus as a baby. He’d love to see him as a baby. Or as a little boy. What did he look like? Had he been lanky or chubby? Had he been a quiet or a cheeky child? Had he carried that vibrancy within him even back then?

For a second there was this far away look in Magnus’ eyes and Alec thought that maybe he had been wrong. Maybe Magnus would love to see some pictures like that, some memories from such a long time ago, back when his childhood was still a happy one. Back before his parentage had wrecked havoc on his young life.

“Well,” Magnus shrugged, that look gone from his eyes, leaving only a small smile. “We’ll never know. No such thing as photography in my days. But I’d love to share what I have, if you’re interested. Even if it’s just some awful pictures Ragnor had kept for whatever reason.”

Alec nodded. Of course he was interested. There was no part of Magnus he’d ever _not_ be interested in. He wanted to know everything.

And so did Magnus. Of course he’d jumped at the chance of seeing those baby pictures.

“Good, then that’s settled.” Magnus gave a firm nod, before rubbing a hand across his stomach. “I don’t know about you, but I’m ravenous.”

“Yeah, me too.” He grinned, relieved to get an opening to leave and get away from this whole situation. “Off to Oahu?”

Magnus took one of his hands in his, intertwining their fingers and winked at him. “Off to Oahu! That is,” he said with a smirk, “if my cute little midget isn’t still afraid of water.”

“ _Magnus!_ ”

He slapped his boyfriend’s shoulder not too gently, annoyed and blushing again. And laughing.

Not as loud as Magnus or Izzy, though.

**Author's Note:**

> Tomorrow will be a day to reflect and the day after you'll get the next installment of this advent calendar :)  
> (For information about the workings of this calendar check the description page of the series)
> 
> I hope you enjoyed it so far.
> 
> And if anyone feels like bringing those cute little baby pictures to life by drawing them... that would be amazing :D


End file.
